Iphone 8 Plus Vs Xs Max

At a Glance

Our Verdict

The iPhone XS Max is very expensive but a very desirable phone. It has the biggest screen always on an iPhone with a slim pattern that is physically smaller than the overall size of the iPhone 8 Plus. But if you lot aren't bothered about animoji and Confront ID and want a new, powerful iPhone with a home button, so the 8 Plus is the one for you at a cheaper price.

The iPhone XS Max is Apple's most expensive phone but information technology boasts the largest screen ever on an iPhone. The year-older iPhone 8 Plus is however available to buy and is a large telephone merely has a unlike pattern.

If you aren't certain whether to pony up for the XS Max, here we compare information technology specifically to the 8 Plus to encounter which is best suited to your needs and upkeep. (We also look at the iPhone 7 Plus and the XS Max here.)

iPhone XS Max vs iPhone 8 Plus: Price and availability

The iPhone XS Max went on sale on 21 September and costs from £i,099/$i,099 for the 64GB model. You can pay more for 256GB or 512GB.

The iPhone 8 Plus now costs less than it did at launch, now starting at £699/$699 for 64GB, with a 256GB version available too. Even at launch information technology was less than the iPhone XS Max is now, costing £799/$799 for 64GB or £949/$949 for a 128GB model.

Equally you tin see, the XS Max is quite a lot more than the 8 Plus.

iPhone XS Max vs iPhone eight Plus: Blueprint and build

These ii phones wait very different. The XS Max keeps the design get-go seen on the (now discontinued) iPhone X and enlarges it to a 6.5in screen, the largest ever on an iPhone.

Thanks to the alpine 19.5:ix aspect ratio it's slimmer than y'all might imagine. The iPhone 8 Plus has a 16:9 screen and is a whole inch smaller at 5.5in. Because of the aspect ratio differences, the phones are nearly the same size despite looking very different.

In fact, the iPhone XS Max is shorter and thinner than the viii Plus and only 0.2mm thicker, which you lot won't fifty-fifty notice. But to achieve this size it has a notch at the elevation of the display to hold the camera and Confront ID sensors.

The bezels on the iPhone 8 Plus recall the classic iPhone pattern and means it still has the domicile button, something the XS Max lacks. Both phones accept dual camera on the dorsum but orientated differently.

You get a stainless-steel rim around the XS Max and an aluminium i on the 8 Plus, the latter being a bit more grippy. Neither telephone has a headphone jack, with simply a Lightning port on the bottom.

The XS Max is the amend looking for sheer futuristic allure, only the viii Plus is yet a very premium device.

iPhone XS Max vs iPhone 8 Plus: Features and specs

Here's a tabular array with a direct comparison of the specs of both phones:

	iPhone XS Max	iPhone 8 Plus
iOS	iOS 12	iOS 11 upgradable to iOS 12
Colours	Gold, Silvery, Space Grey	Silver, Space Grey, Aureate
Brandish	6.5in Super Retina Display (2688×1242, 458ppi) OLED	five.5in Retina HD Brandish (1920×1080, 401ppi) LCD
Processor	Apple tree A12 Bionic	Apple A11 Bionic
Storage	64GB/256GB/512GB	64GB/256GB
Rear camera	12Mp wide-angle, f/i.8, OIS + 12Mp telephoto, f/2.4, OIS, optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, Portrait Lighting, Portrait Manner, quad-LED flash	12Mp wide-angle, f/i.viii, OIS + 12Mp telephoto, f/2.8, OIS, optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, Portrait Lighting, Portrait Fashion, quad-LED wink
Front end camera	7Mp FaceTime Hard disk drive, f/2.2, 1080p video	7Mp FaceTime HD, f/two.2, 1080p video
Video recording	4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps	4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps
Biometric security	Face ID	Bear on ID
Wireless charging?	Yes	Yep
Waterproofing	IP68	IP67
Dimensions	157.5 10 77.4 ten 7.7mm	158.4 x 78.1 10 7.5mm
Weight	208g	202g
Toll	£1,099/£1,349/£1,449 (aforementioned in $)	£699/£849 (aforementioned in $)
Buy SIM-costless	Pre-order 14 September	From Apple
Buy on contract	Pre-lodge xiv September	From Carphone Warehouse

Although the phones look quite different, there aren't as many differences as you lot might call back.

The main upgrade y'all get with the XS Max is the newer A12 Bionic processor and the larger OLED display. OLED screens are more vibrant and can produce deeper blacks.

But Apple's LCDs are excellent and the screen on the iPhone 8 Plus is even so very good. Information technology has 2017's A11 processor inside which is no slouch either, and real-globe apply won't evidence much difference in performance.

If you actually desire a 512GB phone then you tin have information technology with the XS Max but information technology'south the most expensive iPhone version withal at £1,449/$1,449. You could settle for a healthy 256GB iPhone 8 Plus for £849/$849.

The camera modules are besides very like on both phones simply the XS Max's are slightly meliorate. Both lenses have optical image stabilisation and the telephoto lens has f/ii.4.

On the 8 Plus, the telephoto is f/2.8 and lacks OIS. Just the 8 Plus can however do the portrait mode and portrait lighting shots the XS Max tin practise, and its video recording capabilities are identical.

The XS Max has Face ID to allow for telephone unlocking and biometric verification. The eight Plus doesn't take this, only you can unlock and verify with the domicile push'south fingerprint sensor.

iPhone XS Max vs iPhone 8 Plus: Software and apps

Both phones will run iOS 12 very smoothly. The chief difference is on the iPhone XS Max you lot have to use swipe gestures in the UI as you oasis't got a home button. Swipe upward to become habitation, and swipe upwardly and hold to view the app switcher are the main things to larn, with a pull down from the top correct to access the command heart.

On the 8 Plus, the home button and swipe from the bottom from command centre are yet in place as they have been for some time.

The Face ID photographic camera array on the XS Max tin can record Memoji and Animoji as it tin can scan your face up in 3D – the viii Plus can receive these creations, but can't create them.

Otherwise, you lot don't lose out on much by having the cheaper 8 Plus – it's mainly Face ID and the novelty emoji fun yous tin can have with information technology.

Verdict

The iPhone 8 Plus is the most capable iPhone remaining with the home button and no notch. It's got practiced battery life, dual cameras and a still-fast processor. With full support of the latest iOS for a few more years, it is past no means a bad choice.

But the iPhone XS Max is the most powerful iPhone ever. It has a taller, larger, better OLED display, Face ID, and faster performance. That comes at a price though, starting at £1,099/$1,099 compared to the £699/$699 of the 8 Plus.